These works by Doherty explore the multiple meanings that a single image can have. Doherty has suggested that this interest may stem from his witnessing of Bloody Sunday and subsequent knowledge that many photos of the incident did not tell the whole truth. Some of Doherty's earliest works are of maps and similar images accompanied by texts in a manner similar to the land art of Richard Long, except that here the text sometimes seems to contradict the image.

Doherty's video pieces are often projected in a confined space, giving a sense of claustrophobia. The videos themselves sometimes create a mood that has been compared to film noir.

Doherty has acknowledged the importance of the Orchard Gallery in Derry as a venue where he could see modern art in his formative years.
He was a participant in dOCUMENTA (13).

Riann Coulter wrote in The Irish Times that "Doherty is arguably the most significant Northern Irish artist of his generation."[2] Aidan Dunne wrote in The Irish Times that Doherty has a "big international reputation" and that his exhibition in June 2013 at Art Basel had been "impressive".[4]

National Museums Northern Ireland's Curator of Fine Art, Anne Stewart, said, "The Ulster Museum has long admired Willie Doherty, in particular the profoundly affecting ways in which his work explores themes of identity, territoriality and surveillance. His work frequently involves the layering of text and image, which creates a sense of ambiguity and plays on the viewer's prejudices and assumptions.”[1]